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1.What is the JDBC?

Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) is a standard Java API to interact with
relational databases form Java. JDBC has set of classes and interfaces which can
use from Java application and talk to database without learning RDBMS details
and using Database Specific JDBC Drivers.

2.What are the new features added to JDBC 4.0?

The major features added in JDBC 4.0 include :

Auto-loading of JDBC driver class

Connection management enhancements

Support for RowId SQL type

DataSet implementation of SQL using Annotations

SQL exception handling enhancements

SQL XML support

3.Explain Basic Steps in writing a Java program using JDBC?

JDBC makes the interaction with RDBMS simple and intuitive. When a Java
application needs to access database :

Load the RDBMS specific JDBC driver because this driver actually
communicates with the database (Incase of JDBC 4.0 this is automatically
loaded).

Open the connection to database which is then used to send SQL statements
and get results back.

Create JDBC Statement object. This object contains SQL query.

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Execute statement which returns resultset(s). ResultSet contains the tuples of

database table as a result of SQL query.

Process the result set.

Close the connection.

4.Exaplain the JDBC Architecture.

The JDBC Architecture consists of two layers:

The JDBC API, which provides the application-to-JDBC Manager

connection.

The JDBC Driver API, which supports the JDBC Manager-to-Driver

Connection.

The JDBC API uses a driver manager and database-specific drivers to provide
transparent connectivity to heterogeneous databases. The JDBC driver manager
ensures that the correct driver is used to access each data source. The driver
manager is capable of supporting multiple concurrent drivers connected to multiple
heterogeneous databases. The location of the driver manager with respect to the
JDBC drivers and the Java application is shown in Figure 1.

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Figure 1: JDBC Architecture

5.What are the main components of JDBC ?

The life cycle of a servlet consists of the following phases:

DriverManager: Manages a list of database drivers. Matches connection

requests from the java application with the proper database driver using
communication subprotocol. The first driver that recognizes a certain
subprotocol under JDBC will be used to establish a database Connection.

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Driver: The database communications link, handling all communication

with the database. Normally, once the driver is loaded, the developer need
not call it explicitly.

Connection : Interface with all methods for contacting a database.The

connection object represents communication context, i.e., all communication
with database is through connection object only.

Statement : Encapsulates an SQL statement which is passed to the database

to be parsed, compiled, planned and executed.

ResultSet: The ResultSet represents set of rows retrieved due to query

execution.

6.How the JDBC application works?

A JDBC application can be logically divided into two layers:
1. Driver layer
2. Application layer

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Driver layer consists of DriverManager class and the available JDBC

drivers.

The application begins with requesting the DriverManager for the

connection.

An appropriate driver is choosen and is used for establishing the connection.

This connection is given to the application which falls under the application
layer.

The application uses this connection to create Statement kind of objects,

through which SQL commands are sent to backend and obtain the results.

Figure 2: JDBC Application

7.How do I load a database driver

with JDBC 4.0 / Java 6?
Provided the JAR file containing the driver is properly configured, just place the
JAR file in the classpath. Java developers NO longer need to explicitly load JDBC
drivers using code like Class.forName() to register a JDBC driver.The
DriverManager class takes care of this by automatically locating a suitable driver
when the DriverManager.getConnection() method is called. This feature is
backward-compatible, so no changes are needed to the existing JDBC code.

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8.What is JDBC Driver interface?

The JDBC Driver interface provides vendor-specific implementations of the
abstract classes provided by the JDBC API. Each vendor driver must provide
implementations of the
java.sql.Connection,Statement,PreparedStatement,
CallableStatement, ResultSet and Driver.

9.What does the connection object represents?

The connection object represents communication context, i.e., all communication
with database is through connection object only.

10.What is Statement ?
Statement acts like a vehicle through which SQL commands can be sent. Through
the connection object we create statement kind of objects.
Through the connection object we create statement kind of objects.
Statement stmt

= conn.createStatement();

This method returns object

which implements statement
interface.

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11.What is

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PreparedStatement?

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A prepared statement is an SQL

statement that is precompiled by the database. Through precompilation, prepared
statements improve the performance of SQL commands that are executed multiple
times (given that the database supports prepared statements). Once compiled,
prepared statements can be customized prior to each execution by altering
predefined SQL parameters.
PreparedStatement pstmt = conn.prepareStatement("UPDATE
EMPLOYEES SET SALARY = ? WHERE ID = ?");
pstmt.setBigDecimal(1, 153833.00);
pstmt.setInt(2, 110592);

Here: conn is an instance of the Connection class and "?" represents

parameters.These parameters must be specified before execution.

12.What is the difference between a Statement and a PreparedStatement?

Statement

PreparedStatement

A standard Statement is used to create a

A PreparedStatement is a precompiled

Java representation of a literal SQL

statement. This means that when the

statement and execute it on the

PreparedStatement is executed, the

database.

RDBMS can just run the

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PreparedStatement SQL statement

without having to compile it first.

Statement has to verify its metadata

against the database every time.

While a prepared statement has to verify

its metadata against the database only
once.
If you want to execute a single SQL
statement multiple number of times,

If you want to execute the SQL

then go for PREPAREDSTATEMENT.

statement once go for STATEMENT

PreparedStatement objects can be

reused with passing different values to
the queries

13.What are callable statements ?

Callable statements are used from JDBC application to invoke stored procedures
and functions.

14.How to call a stored procedure from JDBC ?

PL/SQL stored procedures are called from within JDBC programs by means of the
prepareCall() method of the Connection object created. A call to this method takes
variable bind parameters as input parameters as well as output variables and
creates an object instance of the CallableStatement class.
The following line of code illustrates this:

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CallableStatement stproc_stmt =
conn.prepareCall("{call procname(?,?,?)}");

Here conn is an instance of the Connection class.

15.What are types of JDBC drivers?

There are four types of drivers defined by JDBC as follows:

Type 1: JDBC/ODBCThese require an ODBC (Open Database

Connectivity) driver for the database to be installed. This type of driver
works by translating the submitted queries into equivalent ODBC queries
and forwards them via native API calls directly to the ODBC driver. It
provides no host redirection capability.

Type2: Native API (partly-Java driver)This type of driver uses a

vendor-specific driver or database API to interact with the database. An
example of such an API is Oracle OCI (Oracle Call Interface). It also
provides no host redirection.

Type 3: Open Protocol-NetThis is not vendor specific and works by

forwarding database requests to a remote database source using a net server
component. How the net server component accesses the database is
transparent to the client. The client driver communicates with the net server

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using a database-independent protocol and the net server translates this

protocol into database calls. This type of driver can access any database.

Type 4: Proprietary Protocol-Net(pure Java driver)This has a same

configuration as a type 3 driver but uses a wire protocol specific to a
particular vendor and hence can access only that vendor's database. Again
this is all transparent to the client.

Note: Type 4 JDBC driver is most preferred kind of approach in JDBC.

16.Which type of JDBC driver is the fastest one?

JDBC Net pure Java driver(Type IV) is the fastest driver because it converts the
JDBC calls into vendor specific protocol calls and it directly interacts with the
database.

17.Does the JDBC-ODBC Bridge support multiple concurrent open

statements per connection?

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No. You can open only one Statement object per connection when you are using
the JDBC-ODBC Bridge.

18.Which is the right type of driver to use and when?

Type I driver is handy for prototyping

Type III driver adds security, caching, and connection control

Type III and Type IV drivers need no pre-installation

Note: Preferred by 9 out of 10 Java developers: Type IV. Click here to learn more
about JDBC drivers.

19.What are the standard isolation levels defined by JDBC?

The values are defined in the class java.sql.Connection and are:

TRANSACTION_NONE

TRANSACTION_READ_COMMITTED

TRANSACTION_READ_UNCOMMITTED

TRANSACTION_REPEATABLE_READ

TRANSACTION_SERIALIZABLE

Any given database may not support all of these levels.

20.What is resultset ?
The ResultSet represents set of rows retrieved due to query execution.

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ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery(sqlQuery);

21.What are the types of

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resultsets?
The values are defined in the
class java.sql.Connection and
are:

TYPE_FORWARD_ONLY

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specifies that a resultset is

not scrollable, that is, rows within it can be advanced only in the forward
direction.

TYPE_SCROLL_INSENSITIVE specifies that a resultset is scrollable in either

direction but is insensitive to changes committed by other transactions or

other statements in the same transaction.

TYPE_SCROLL_SENSITIVE specifies that a resultset is scrollable in either

direction and is affected by changes committed by other transactions or

statements within the same transaction.
Note: A TYPE_FORWARD_ONLY resultset is always insensitive.

22.Whats the difference between TYPE_SCROLL_INSENSITIVE and

TYPE_SCROLL_SENSITIVE?
TYPE_SCROLL_INSENSITIVE
An insensitive resultset is like the

TYPE_SCROLL_SENSITIVE
A sensitive resultset does NOT

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snapshot of the data in the database

represent a snapshot of data, rather it

when query was executed.

contains points to those rows which

satisfy the query condition.

After we get the resultset the changes

made to data are not visible through the
resultset, and hence they are known as
insensitive.

Performance not effected with

insensitive.

After we obtain the resultset if the data

is modified then such modifications are
visible through resultset.

Since a trip is made for every get

operation, the performance drastically
get affected.

22.What is rowset?
A RowSet is an object that encapsulates a set of rows from either Java Database
Connectivity (JDBC) result sets or tabular data sources like a file or spreadsheet.
RowSets support component-based development models like JavaBeans, with a
standard set of properties and an event notification mechanism.

24.What are the different types of

RowSet ?
There are two types of RowSet are there. They are:

Connected - A connected RowSet object connects to the database once and

remains connected until the application terminates.

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Disconnected - A disconnected RowSet object connects to the database,

executes a query to retrieve the data from the database and then closes the
connection. A program may change the data in a disconnected RowSet while
it is disconnected. Modified data can be updated in the database after a
disconnected RowSet reestablishes the connection with the database.

25.What is the need of BatchUpdates?

The BatchUpdates feature allows us to group SQL statements together and send to
database server in one single trip.

26.What is a DataSource?
A DataSource object is the representation of a data source in the Java programming
language. In basic terms,

A DataSource is a facility for storing data.

DataSource can be referenced by JNDI.

Data Source may point to RDBMS, file System , any DBMS etc..

27.What are the advantages of

DataSource?
The few advantages of data source are :

An application does not need to hardcode driver information, as it does with

the DriverManager.

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The DataSource implementations can easily change the properties of data

sources. For example: There is no need to modify the application code when
making changes to the database details.

The DataSource facility allows developers to implement a DataSource class

to take advantage of features like connection pooling and distributed
transactions.

28.What is connection pooling? what is the main advantage of using

connection pooling?
A connection pool is a mechanism to reuse connections created. Connection
pooling can increase performance dramatically by reusing connections rather than
creating a new physical connection each time a connection is requested..

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1.What is the Servlet?

A servlet is a Java programming language class that is used to extend the
capabilities of servers that host applications accessed by means of a requestresponse programming model.

2.What are the new features added to Servlet 2.5?

Following are the changes introduced in Servlet 2.5:

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A new dependency on J2SE 5.0

Support for annotations

Loading the class

Several web.xml conveniences

A handful of removed restrictions

Some edge case clarifications

Learn more about Servlets 2.5 features

3.What are the uses of Servlet?

Typical uses for HTTP Servlets include:

Processing and/or storing data submitted by an HTML form.

Providing dynamic content, e.g. returning the results of a database query to

the client.

A Servlet can handle multiple request concurrently and be used to develop

high performance system

Managing state information on top of the stateless HTTP, e.g. for an online
shopping cart system which manages shopping carts for many concurrent
customers and maps every request to the right customer.

4.What are the advantages of Servlet over CGI?

Servlets have several advantages over CGI:

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A Servlet does not run in a separate process. This removes the overhead of
creating a new process for each request.

A Servlet stays in memory between requests. A CGI program (and probably

also an extensive runtime system or interpreter) needs to be loaded and
started for each CGI request.

There is only a single instance which answers all requests concurrently. This
saves memory and allows a Servlet to easily manage persistent data.

Several web.xml conveniences

A handful of removed restrictions

Some edge case clarifications

5.What are the phases of the servlet life cycle?

The life cycle of a servlet consists of the following phases:

Servlet class loading : For each servlet defined in the deployment descriptor
of the Web application, the servlet container locates and loads a class of the
type of the servlet. This can happen when the servlet engine itself is started,
or later when a client request is actually delegated to the servlet.

Servlet instantiation : After loading, it instantiates one or more object

instances of the servlet class to service the client requests.

Initialization (call the init method) : After instantiation, the container

initializes a servlet before it is ready to handle client requests. The container

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initializes the servlet by invoking its init() method, passing an object

implementing the ServletConfig interface. In the init() method, the servlet
can read configuration parameters from the deployment descriptor or
perform any other one-time activities, so the init() method is invoked once
and only once by the servlet container.

Request handling (call the service method) : After the servlet is initialized,
the container may keep it ready for handling client requests. When client
requests arrive, they are delegated to the servlet through the service()
method, passing the request and response objects as parameters. In the case
of HTTP requests, the request and response objects are implementations of
HttpServletRequest and HttpServletResponse respectively. In the
HttpServlet class, the service() method invokes a different handler method
for each type of HTTP request, doGet() method for GET requests, doPost()
method for POST requests, and so on.

Removal from service (call the destroy method) : A servlet container may
decide to remove a servlet from service for various reasons, such as to
conserve memory resources. To do this, the servlet container calls the
destroy() method on the servlet. Once the destroy() method has been called,
the servlet may not service any more client requests. Now the servlet
instance is eligible for garbage collection
The life cycle of a servlet is controlled by the container in which the servlet
has been deployed.

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6.Why do we need a constructor in a servlet if we use the init method?

Even though there is an init method in a servlet which gets called to initialize it, a
constructor is still required to instantiate the servlet. Even though you as the
developer would never need to explicitly call the servlet's constructor, it is still
being used by the container (the container still uses the constructor to create an
instance of the servlet). Just like a normal POJO (plain old java object) that might
have an init method, it is no use calling the init method if you haven't constructed
an object to call it on yet.

7.How the servlet is loaded?

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A servlet can be loaded when:

First request is made.

Server starts up (auto-load).

There is only a single instance which answers all requests concurrently. This
saves memory and allows a Servlet to easily manage persistent data.

Administrator manually loads.

8.How a Servlet is unloaded?

A servlet is unloaded when:

Server shuts down.

Administrator manually unloads.

9.What is Servlet interface?

The central abstraction in the Servlet API is the Servlet interface. All servlets
implement this interface, either directly or , more commonly by extending a class
that implements it.

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Note: Most Servlets, however, extend one of the standard implementations of that
interface, namely javax.servlet.GenericServlet and
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.

10.What is the GenericServlet

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class?
GenericServlet is an abstract
class that implements the Servlet
interface and the ServletConfig
interface. In addition to the
methods declared in these two

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interfaces, this class also

provides simple versions of the lifecycle methods init and destroy, and implements
the log method declared in the ServletContext interface.
Note: This class is known as generic servlet, since it is not specific to any protocol.

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11.What's the difference between GenericServlet and HttpServlet?

GenericServlet

The GenericServlet is an abstract class

that is extended by HttpServlet to
provide HTTP protocol-specific
methods.

The GenericServlet does not include

protocol-specific methods for handling
request parameters, cookies, sessions
and setting response headers.

HttpServlet
An abstract class that simplifies writing
HTTP servlets. It extends the
GenericServlet base class and provides
an framework for handling the HTTP
protocol.

The HttpServlet subclass passes generic

service method requests to the relevant
doGet() or doPost() method.

GenericServlet is not specific to any

HttpServlet only supports HTTP and

protocol.

HTTPS protocol.

12.Why is HttpServlet declared

abstract?
The HttpServlet class is declared abstract because the default implementations of
the main service methods do nothing and must be overridden. This is a
convenience implementation of the Servlet interface, which means that developers
do not need to implement all service methods. If your servlet is required to handle
doGet() requests for example, there is no need to write a doPost() method too.

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13.Can servlet have a constructor ?

One can definitely have constructor in servlet.Even you can use the constrctor in
servlet for initialization purpose,but this type of approch is not so common. You
can perform common operations with the constructor as you normally do.The only
thing is that you cannot call that constructor explicitly by the new keyword as we
normally do.In the case of servlet, servlet container is responsible for instantiating
the servlet, so the constructor is also called by servlet container only.

14.What are the types of protocols supported by HttpServlet ?

It extends the GenericServlet base class and provides a framework for handling the
HTTP protocol. So, HttpServlet only supports HTTP and HTTPS protocol.

15.What is the difference between doGet() and doPost()?

#

doGet()

In doGet() the parameters are

1 appended to the URL and sent along
with header information.

The amount of information you can

2 send back using a GET is restricted

doPost()
In doPost(), on the other hand will
(typically) send the information
through a socket back to the webserver
and it won't show up in the URL bar.
You can send much more information
to the server this way - and it's not

as URLs can only be 1024 characters. restricted to textual data either. It is

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possible to send files and even binary

data such as serialized Java objects!
doGet() is a request for information;
3

it does not (or should not) change

anything on the server. (doGet()
should be idempotent)

4 Parameters are not encrypted

doGet() is faster if we set the

5

response content length since the

same connection is used. Thus
increasing the performance

doPost() provides information (such as

placing an order for merchandise) that
the server is expected to remember

Parameters are encrypted

doPost() is generally used to update or
post some information to the
server.doPost is slower compared to
doGet since doPost does not write the
content length
This method does not need to be

doGet() should be idempotent. i.e.

6 doget should be able to be repeated
safely many times

idempotent. Operations requested

through POST can have side effects for
which the user can be held
accountable.

doGet() should be safe without any

7 side effects for which user is held
responsible
8 It allows bookmarks.

This method does not need to be either

safe

It disallows bookmarks.

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16.When to use doGet() and when doPost()?

Always prefer to use GET (As because GET is faster than POST), except
mentioned in the following reason:

If data is sensitive

Data is greater than 1024 characters

If your application don't need bookmarks.

17.How do I support both GET and POST from the same Servlet?
The easy way is, just support POST, then have your doGet method call your
doPost method:

public void doGet(HttpServletRequest request,

HttpServletResponse response)
throws ServletException, IOException
{
doPost(request, response);
}

18.Should I override the service() method?

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We never override the service method, since the HTTP Servlets have already taken
care of it . The default service function invokes the doXXX() method
corresponding to the method of the HTTP request.For example, if the HTTP
request method is GET, doGet() method is called by default. A servlet should
override the doXXX() method for the HTTP methods that servlet supports.
Because HTTP service method check the request method and calls the appropriate
handler method, it is not necessary to override the service method itself. Only
override the appropriate doXXX() method.

19.How the typical servlet code look like ?

20.What is a servlet context object?

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A servlet context object contains the information about the Web application of
which the servlet is a part. It also provides access to the resources common to all
the servlets in the application. Each Web application in a container has a single
servlet context associated with it.

21.What are the differences between the ServletConfig interface and the
ServletContext interface?
ServletConfig

ServletContext

The ServletConfig interface is

implemented by the servlet container in
order to pass configuration information
to a servlet. The server passes an object
that implements the ServletConfig

A ServletContext defines a set of

methods that a servlet uses to
communicate with its servlet container.

interface to the servlet's init() method.

There is one ServletConfig parameter

per servlet.

There is one ServletContext for the

entire webapp and all the servlets in a
webapp share it.

The param-value pairs for

The param-value pairs for

ServletConfig object are specified in the

ServletContext object are specified in

<init-param> within the <servlet> tags

the <context-param> tags in the

in the web.xml file

web.xml file.

22.What's the difference between forward() and sendRedirect() methods?

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forward()

sendRedirect()
A redirect is a two step process, where

A forward is performed internally by

the web application instructs the

the servlet.

browser to fetch a second URL, which

differs from the original.

The browser is completely unaware

The browser, in this case, is doing the

that it has taken place, so its original

work and knows that it's making a new

URL remains intact.

request.

Any browser reload of the resulting

A browser reloads of the second URL

page will simple repeat the original

,will not repeat the original request, but

request, with the original URL

will rather fetch the second URL.

Both resources must be part of the same

context (Some containers make
provisions for cross-context
communication but this tends not to be
very portable)

This method can be used to redirect

users to resources that are not part of the
current context, or even in the same
domain.

Because this involves a new request, the

Since both resources are part of same
context, the original request context is
retained

previous request scope objects, with all

of its parameters and attributes are no
longer available after a redirect.
(Variables will need to be passed by via
the session object).

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Forward is marginally faster than

redirect.

redirect is marginally slower than a

forward, since it requires two browser
requests, not one.

23.What is the difference between the include() and forward() methods?

include()
The RequestDispatcher include()
method inserts the the contents of the
specified resource directly in the flow of
the servlet response, as if it were part of
the calling servlet.

If you include a servlet or JSP

document, the included resource must
not attempt to change the response
status code or HTTP headers, any such
request will be ignored.

forward()

The RequestDispatcher forward()

method is used to show a different
resource in place of the servlet that was
originally called.

The forwarded resource may be another

servlet, JSP or static HTML document,
but the response is issued under the
same URL that was originally
requested. In other words, it is not the
same as a redirection.

The include() method is often used to

The forward() method is often used

include common "boilerplate" text or

where a servlet is taking a controller

template markup that may be included

role; processing some input and

by many servlets.

deciding the outcome by returning a

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particular response page.

24.What's the use of the

People who read this, also read:-

servlet wrapper classes??

The
HttpServletRequestWrapper

and
HttpServletResponseWrappe
r classes are designed to make it

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easy for developers to create

custom implementations of the servlet request and response types. The classes are
constructed with the standard HttpServletRequest and HttpServletResponse
instances respectively and their default behaviour is to pass all method calls
directly to the underlying objects.

25.What is the directory structure of a WAR file?

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26.What is a deployment descriptor?

A deployment descriptor is an XML document with an .xml extension. It defines a
component's deployment settings. It declares transaction attributes and security
authorization for an enterprise bean. The information provided by a deployment
descriptor is declarative and therefore it can be modified without changing the
source code of a bean.
The JavaEE server reads the deployment descriptor at run time and acts upon the
component accordingly.

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27.What is the difference between the getRequestDispatcher(String path)

method of javax.servlet.ServletRequest interface and
javax.servlet.ServletContext interface?

ServletRequest.getRequestDispatcher

ServletContext.getRequestDispatcher

(String path)

(String path)

The getRequestDispatcher(String
path) method of

The getRequestDispatcher(String

javax.servlet.ServletRequest

path) method of

interface accepts parameter the path to

javax.servlet.ServletContext

the resource to be included or forwarded interface cannot accept relative paths.

to, which can be relative to the request

All path must start with a / and are

of the calling servlet. If the path begins

interpreted as relative to current context

with a / it is interpreted as relative to

root.

the current context root.

28.What is preinitialization of a
servlet?
A container does not initialize the servlets as soon as it starts up, it initializes a
servlet when it receives a request for that servlet first time. This is called lazy
loading. The servlet specification defines the element, which can be specified in
the deployment descriptor to make the servlet container load and initialize the

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servlet as soon as it starts up. The process of loading a servlet before any request
comes in is called preloading or preinitializing a servlet.

29.What is the <load-on-startup> element?

The <load-on-startup> element of a deployment descriptor is used to load a
servlet file when the server starts instead of waiting for the first request. It is also
used to specify the order in which the files are to be loaded. The <load-on-startup>
element is written in the deployment descriptor as follows:
<servlet>
<servlet-name>ServletName</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>ClassName</servlet-class>
<load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>

Note: The container loads the servlets in the order specified in the <load-onstartup> element.

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30.What is session?
A session refers to all the requests that a single client might make to a server in the
course of viewing any pages associated with a given application. Sessions are
specific to both the individual user and the application. As a result, every user of an
application has a separate session and has access to a separate set of session
variables.

31.What is Session Tracking?

Session tracking is a mechanism that servlets use to maintain state about a series of
requests from the same user (that is, requests originating from the same browser)
across some period of time.

32.What is the need of Session Tracking in web application?

HTTP is a stateless protocol i.e., every request is treated as new request. For web
applications to be more realistic they have to retain information across multiple
requests. Such information which is part of the application is reffered as "state". To

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keep track of this state we need session tracking.

Typical example: Putting things one at a time into a shopping cart, then checking
out--each page request must somehow be associated with previous requests.

33.What are the types of Session Tracking ?

Sessions need to work with all web browsers and take into account the users
security preferences. Therefore there are a variety of ways to send and receive the
identifier:

URL rewriting : URL rewriting is a method of session tracking in which

some extra data (session ID) is appended at the end of each URL. This extra
data identifies the session. The server can associate this session identifier
with the data it has stored about that session. This method is used with
browsers that do not support cookies or where the user has disabled the
cookies.

Hidden Form Fields : Similar to URL rewriting. The server embeds new
hidden fields in every dynamically generated form page for the client. When
the client submits the form to the server the hidden fields identify the client.

Cookies : Cookie is a small amount of information sent by a servlet to a

Web browser. Saved by the browser, and later sent back to the server in

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subsequent requests. A cookie has a name, a single value, and optional

attributes. A cookie's value can uniquely identify a client.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Sessions : Web browsers that support Secure
Socket Layer communication can use SSL's support via HTTPS for
generating a unique session key as part of the encrypted conversation.

Learn more about Session Tracking

34.How do I use cookies to store session state on the client?

In a servlet, the HttpServletResponse and HttpServletRequest objects passed to
method HttpServlet.service() can be used to create cookies on the client and use
cookie information transmitted during client requests. JSPs can also use cookies, in
scriptlet code or, preferably, from within custom tag code.

To set a cookie on the client, use the addCookie() method in class

HttpServletResponse. Multiple cookies may be set for the same request, and
a single cookie name may have multiple values.

To get all of the cookies associated with a single HTTP request, use the
getCookies() method of class HttpServletRequest

35.What are some advantages of storing session state in cookies?

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Cookies are usually persistent, so for low-security sites, user data that needs
to be stored long-term (such as a user ID, historical information, etc.) can be
maintained easily with no server interaction.

For small- and medium-sized session data, the entire session data (instead of
just the session ID) can be kept in the cookie.

36.What are some

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All data for a session are kept on the client. Corruption, expiration or
purging of cookie files can all result in incomplete, inconsistent, or missing
information.

Cookies may not be available for many reasons: the user may have disabled
them, the browser version may not support them, the browser may be behind
a firewall that filters cookies, and so on. Servlets and JSP pages that rely
exclusively on cookies for client-side session state will not operate properly
for all clients. Using cookies, and then switching to an alternate client-side
session state strategy in cases where cookies aren't available, complicates
development and maintenance.

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Browser instances share cookies, so users cannot have multiple simultaneous

sessions.

Cookie-based solutions work only for HTTP clients. This is because cookies
are a feature of the HTTP protocol. Notice that the while package
javax.servlet.http supports session management (via class
HttpSession), package javax.servlet has no such support.

37.What is URL rewriting?

URL rewriting is a method of session tracking in which some extra data is
appended at the end of each URL. This extra data identifies the session. The server
can associate this session identifier with the data it has stored about that session.
Every URL on the page must be encoded using method
HttpServletResponse.encodeURL(). Each time a URL is output, the servlet

passes the URL to encodeURL(), which encodes session ID in the URL if the
browser isn't accepting cookies, or if the session tracking is turned off.
E.g., http://abc/path/index.jsp;jsessionid=123465hfhs
Advantages

URL rewriting works just about everywhere, especially when cookies are
turned off.

Multiple simultaneous sessions are possible for a single user. Session

information is local to each browser instance, since it's stored in URLs in
each page being displayed. This scheme isn't foolproof, though, since users
can start a new browser instance using a URL for an active session, and

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confuse the server by interacting with the same session through two
instances.

Entirely static pages cannot be used with URL rewriting, since every link
must be dynamically written with the session state. It is possible to combine
static and dynamic content, using (for example) templating or server-side
includes. This limitation is also a barrier to integrating legacy web pages
with newer, servlet-based pages.

DisAdvantages

Every URL on a page which needs the session information must be rewritten
each time a page is served. Not only is this expensive computationally, but it
can greatly increase communication overhead.

URL rewriting limits the client's interaction with the server to HTTP GETs,
which can result in awkward restrictions on the page.

URL rewriting does not work well with JSP technology.

If a client workstation crashes, all of the URLs (and therefore all of the data
for that session) are lost.

38.How can an existing session be invalidated?

An existing session can be invalidated in the following two ways:

Setting timeout in the deployment descriptor: This can be done by specifying

timeout between the <session-timeout>tags as follows:

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<session-config>
<session-timeout>10</session-timeout>
</session-config>

This will set the time for session timeout to be ten minutes.

Setting timeout programmatically: This will set the timeout for a specific
session. The syntax for setting the timeout programmatically is as follows:
public void setMaxInactiveInterval(int interval)

The setMaxInactiveInterval() method sets the maximum time in

seconds before a session becomes invalid.
Note :Setting the inactive period as negative(-1), makes the container stop
tracking session, i.e, session never expires.

39.How can the session in Servlet can be destroyed?

An existing session can be destroyed in the following two ways:

Programatically : Using session.invalidate() method, which makes the

container abonden the session on which the method is called.

When the server itself is shutdown.

40.A client sends requests to two different web components. Both of the
components access the session. Will they end up using the same session object or
different session ?
Creates only one session i.e., they end up with using same session .

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Sessions is specific to the client but not the web components. And there is a 1-1
mapping between client and a session.

41.What is servlet lazy loading?

A container doesnot initialize the servlets ass soon as it starts up, it

initializes a servlet when it receives a request for that servlet first time. This
is called lazy loading.

The servlet specification defines the <load-on-startup> element, which can

be specified in the deployment descriptor to make the servlet container load
and initialize the servlet as soon as it starts up.

The process of loading a servlet before any request comes in is called

preloading or preinitializing a servlet.

42.What is Servlet Chaining?

Servlet Chaining is a method where the output of one servlet is piped into a second
servlet. The output of the second servlet could be piped into a third servlet, and so
on. The last servlet in the chain returns the output to the Web browser.

43.How are filters?

Filters are Java components that are used to intercept an incoming request to a
Web resource and a response sent back from the resource. It is used to abstract any
useful information contained in the request or response. Some of the important
functions performed by filters are as follows:

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Security checks

Modifying the request or response

Data compression

Logging and auditing

Response compression

Filters are configured in the deployment descriptor of a Web application. Hence, a

user is not required to recompile anything to change the input or output of the Web
application.

44.What are the functions of an intercepting filter?

The functions of an intercepting filter are as follows:

It intercepts the request from a client before it reaches the servlet and
modifies the request if required.

It intercepts the response from the servlet back to the client and modifies the
request if required.

There can be many filters forming a chain, in which case the output of one
filter becomes an input to the next filter. Hence, various modifications can
be performed on a single request and response.

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45.What are the functions of the Servlet container?

The functions of the Servlet container are as follows:

Lifecycle management : It manages the life and death of a servlet, such as

class loading, instantiation, initialization, service, and making servlet
instances eligible for garbage collection.

Communication support : It handles the communication between the

servlet and the Web server.

Multithreading support : It automatically creates a new thread for every

servlet request received. When the Servlet service() method completes, the
thread dies.

Declarative security : It manages the security inside the XML deployment

descriptor file.

JSP support : The container is responsible for converting JSPs to servlets

and for maintaining them.

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1 What are the advantages of JSP over Servlet?

JSP is a serverside technology to make content generation a simple appear.The
advantage of JSP is that they are document-centric. Servlets, on the other hand,
look and act like programs. A Java Server Page can contain Java program
fragments that instantiate and execute Java classes, but these occur inside an
HTML template file and are primarily used to generate dynamic content. Some of

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the JSP functionality can be achieved on the client, using JavaScript. The power of
JSP is that it is server-based and provides a framework for Web application
development.

2.What is the life-cycle of JSP?

When a request is mapped to a JSP page for the first time, it translates the JSP page
into a servlet class and compiles the class. It is this servlet that services the client
requests.
A JSP page has seven phases in its lifecycle, as listed below in the sequence of
occurrence:

Translation

Compilation

Loading the class

Instantiating the class

jspInit() invocation

_jspService() invocation

jspDestroy() invocation

More about JSP Life cycle

3.What is the jspInit() method?

The jspInit() method of the javax.servlet.jsp.JspPage interface is similar to the
init() method of servlets. This method is invoked by the container only once when
a JSP page is initialized. It can be overridden by a page author to initialize

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resources such as database and network connections, and to allow a JSP page to
read persistent configuration data.

4.What is the _jspService() method?

SThe _jspService() method of the javax.servlet.jsp.HttpJspPage interface is
invoked every time a new request comes to a JSP page. This method takes the
HttpServletRequest and HttpServletResponse objects as its arguments. A page
author cannot override this method, as its implementation is provided by the
container.

5.What is the jspDestroy() method?

The jspDestroy() method of the javax.servlet.jsp.JspPage interface is invoked by
the container when a JSP page is about to be destroyed. This method is similar to
the destroy() method of servlets. It can be overridden by a page author to perform
any cleanup operation such as closing a database connection.

6.What JSP lifecycle methods can I override?

You cannot override the _jspService() method within a JSP page. You can
however, override the jspInit() and jspDestroy() methods within a JSP page.
jspInit() can be useful for allocating resources like database connections, network
connections, and so forth for the JSP page. It is good programming practice to free
any allocated resources within jspDestroy().

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7.How can I override the jspInit() and jspDestroy() methods within a JSP
page?
The jspInit() and jspDestroy() methods are each executed just once during the
lifecycle of a JSP page and are typically declared as JSP declarations:
<%!
public void jspInit() {
. . .
}
%>
<%!
public void jspDestroy() {
. . .
}
%>

8.What are implicit objects in JSP?

Implicit objects in JSP are the Java objects that the JSP Container makes available
to developers in each page. These objects need not be declared or instantiated by
the JSP author. They are automatically instantiated by the container and are
accessed using standard variables; hence, they are called implicit objects.The
implicit objects available in JSP are as follows:

request

response

pageContext

session

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application

out

config

page

exception

The implicit objects are parsed by the container and inserted into the generated
servlet code. They are available only within the jspService method and not in any
declaration.
Check more about implicit objects
9.What are the different types of JSP tags?
The different types of JSP tags are as follows:

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10.What are JSP directives?

JSP directives are messages for the JSP engine. i.e., JSP directives serve as a
message from a JSP page to the JSP container and control the processing of
the entire page

They are used to set global values such as a class declaration, method
implementation, output content type, etc.

They do not produce any output to the client.

Directives are always enclosed within <%@ .. %> tag.

Ex: page directive, include directive, etc.

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11.What is page directive?

A page directive is to inform the JSP engine about the headers or facilities
that page should get from the environment.

Typically, the page directive is found at the top of almost all of our JSP
pages.

There can be any number of page directives within a JSP page (although the
attribute value pair must be unique).

The syntax of the include directive is: <%@ page attribute="value">

Example:<%@ include file="header.jsp" %>

12.What are the attributes of page directive?

There are thirteen attributes defined for a page directive of which the important
attributes are as follows:

import: It specifies the packages that are to be imported.

session: It specifies whether a session data is available to the JSP page.

contentType: It allows a user to set the content-type for a page.

isELIgnored: It specifies whether the EL expressions are ignored when a

JSP is translated to a servlet.

13.What is the include directive?

There are thirteen attributes defined for a page directive of which the important
attributes are as follows:

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The include directive is used to statically insert the contents of a resource

into the current JSP.

This enables a user to reuse the code without duplicating it, and includes the
contents of the specified file at the translation time.

The syntax of the include directive is as follows:

<%@ include file = "FileName" %>

This directive has only one attribute called file that specifies the name of
the file to be included.

14.What are the JSP standard actions?

The JSP standard actions affect the overall runtime behavior of a JSP page
and also the response sent back to the client.

They can be used to include a file at the request time, to find or instantiate a
JavaBean, to forward a request to a new page, to generate a browser-specific
code, etc.

Ex: include, forward, useBean,etc. object

15.What are the standard actions available in JSP?

The standard actions available in JSP are as follows:

<jsp:include>: It includes a response from a servlet or a JSP page into the

current page. It differs from an include directive in that it includes a resource
at request processing time, whereas the include directive includes a resource
at translation time.

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<jsp:forward>: It forwards a response from a servlet or a JSP page to

another page.

<jsp:useBean>: It makes a JavaBean available to a page and instantiates the

bean.

<jsp:setProperty>: It sets the properties for a JavaBean.

<jsp:getProperty>: It gets the value of a property from a JavaBean

component and adds it to the response.

<jsp:param>: It is used in conjunction with <jsp:forward>;, <jsp:, or

plugin>; to add a parameter to a request. These parameters are provided
using the name-value pairs.

<jsp:plugin>: It is used to include a Java applet or a JavaBean in the current

JSP page.

16.What is the <jsp:useBean> standard action?

The <jsp:useBean> standard action is used to locate an existing JavaBean or to
create a JavaBean if it does not exist. It has attributes to identify the object
instance, to specify the lifetime of the bean, and to specify the fully qualified
classpath and type.

17.What are the scopes available in <jsp:useBean>?

The scopes available in <jsp:useBean> are as follows:

page scope:: It specifies that the object will be available for the entire JSP
page but not outside the page.

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request scope: It specifies that the object will be associated with a particular
request and exist as long as the request exists.

application scope: It specifies that the object will be available throughout

the entire Web application but not outside the application.

session scope: It specifies that the object will be available throughout the
session with a particular client.

18.What is the <jsp:forward> standard action?

The <jsp:forward> standard action forwards a response from a servlet or a

JSP page to another page.

The execution of the current page is stopped and control is transferred to the
forwarded page.

The syntax of the <jsp:forward> standard action is :

<jsp:forward page="/targetPage" />

Here, targetPage can be a JSP page, an HTML page, or a servlet within the
same context.

If anything is written to the output stream that is not buffered before

<jsp:forward>, an IllegalStateException will be thrown.

Note : Whenever we intend to use <jsp:forward> or <jsp:include> in a page,

buffering should be enabled. By default buffer is enabled.

19.What is the <jsp:include> standard action?

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The <jsp:include> standard action enables the current JSP page to include a static
or a dynamic resource at runtime. In contrast to the include directive, the include
action is used for resources that change frequently. The resource to be included
must be in the same context.The syntax of the <jsp:include> standard action is as
follows:
<jsp:include page="targetPage" flush="true"/>

Here, targetPage is the page to be included in the current JSP.

20.What is the difference between include directive and include action?

Include directive

The include directive, includes the

content of the specified file during the
translation phasewhen the page is
converted to a servlet.

Include action
The include action, includes the
response generated by executing the
specified page (a JSP page or a servlet)
during the request processing phase
when the page is requested by a user.

The include directive is used to

The include standard action enables the

statically insert the contents of a

current JSP page to include a static or a

resource into the current JSP.

dynamic resource at runtime.

Use the include directive if the file

changes rarely. Its the fastest
mechanism.

Use the include action only for content

that changes often, and if which page to
include cannot be decided until the main
page is requested.

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21.Differentiate between pageContext.include and jsp:include?

The <jsp:include> standard action and the pageContext.include() method
are both used to include resources at runtime. However, the
pageContext.include() method always flushes the output of the current page

before including the other components, whereas <jsp:include> flushes the

output of the current page only if the value of flush is explicitly set to true as
follows:
<jsp:include page="/index.jsp" flush="true"/>

22.What is the jsp:setProperty action?

You use jsp:setProperty to give values to properties of beans that have been
referenced earlier. You can do this in two contexts. First, you can use
jsp:setProperty after, but outside of, a jsp:useBean element, as below:
<jsp:useBean id="myName" ... />
...
<jsp:setProperty name="myName" property="myProperty" ... />

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In this case, the jsp:setProperty is executed regardless of whether a new bean was
instantiated or an existing bean was found.

A second context in which jsp:setProperty can appear is inside the body of a

jsp:useBean element, as below:
<jsp:useBean id="myName" ... >
...
<jsp:setProperty name="myName"
property="someProperty" ... />
</jsp:useBean>

Here, the jsp:setProperty is executed only if a new object was instantiated, not if an
existing one was found.

23.What is the jsp:getProperty action?

The <jsp:getProperty> action is used to access the properties of a bean that was set
using the <jsp:getProperty> action. The container converts the property to a String
as follows:

If it is an object, it uses the toString() method to convert it to a String.

If it is a primitive, it converts it directly to a String using the valueOf()

method of the corresponding Wrapper class.

The syntax of the <jsp:getProperty> method is: <jsp:getProperty

name="Name" property="Property" />

Here, name is the id of the bean from which the property was set. The property
attribute is the property to get. A user must create or locate a bean using the
<jsp:useBean> action before using the <jsp:getProperty> action.

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24.What is the <jsp:param> standard action?

The <jsp:param> standard action is used with <jsp:include> or <jsp:forward> to
pass parameter names and values to the target resource. The syntax of the
<jsp:param> standard action is as follows:
<jsp:param name="paramName" value="paramValue"/>

25.What is the jsp:plugin action ?

This action lets you insert the browser-specific OBJECT or EMBED element needed
to specify that the browser run an applet using the Java plugin.

26.What are scripting elements?

JSP scripting elements let you insert Java code into the servlet that will be
generated from the current JSP page. There are three forms:
1. Expressions of the form <%= expression %> that are evaluated and
inserted into the output,
2. Scriptlets of the form <% code %> that are inserted into the servlet's service
method,
3. Declarations of the form <%! code %> that are inserted into the body of the
servlet class, outside of any existing methods.

27.What is a scriptlet?

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A scriptlet contains Java code that is executed every time a JSP is invoked. When a
JSP is translated to a servlet, the scriptlet code goes into the service() method.
Hence, methods and variables written in scriptlets are local to the service()
method. A scriptlet is written between the <% and %> tags and is executed by the
container at request processing time.

28.What are JSP declarations?

As the name implies, JSP declarations are used to declare class variables and
methods in a JSP page. They are initialized when the class is initialized. Anything
defined in a declaration is available for the whole JSP page. A declaration block is
enclosed between the <%! and %> tags. A declaration is not included in the
service() method when a JSP is translated to a servlet.

29.What is a JSP expression?

A JSP expression is used to write an output without using the out.print
statement. It can be said as a shorthand representation for scriptlets. An

expression is written between the <%= and %> tags. It is not required to end the
expression with a semicolon, as it implicitly adds a semicolon to all the
expressions within the expression tags.

30.How is scripting disabled?

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Scripting is disabled by setting the scripting-invalid element of the deployment

descriptor to true. It is a subelement of jsp-property-group. Its valid values are true
and false. The syntax for disabling scripting is as follows:
<jsp-property-group>
<url-pattern>*.jsp</url-pattern>
<scripting-invalid>true</scripting-invalid>
</jsp-property-group>